Meeting Obi-Wan
by Stan Aunan, NW Technical Team Member 

It’s a quote I heard so many times during Current Affairs class in high school, it hasn’t been far from my conscious mind since. The teacher, Bob Stroup, was memorable too. The standing knowledge was “bring an umbrella to Stroup’s class if you sit in the first 3 rows.” Mr. Stroup would get so passionate in his delivery that a certain amount of spittle came out with his words. Maybe that isn’t high on the list of “desired outcomes” as far as instructor behaviors goes, but it worked. All of his students still remember him and many of his messages. But this story isn’t about Mr. Stroup, it’s about his message.

“Change with the times or die on the vine!” It applies to civilizations, businesses, the music industry, etc., but does it apply to ski instructors? Theoretically it’s easy to say; “Yes it does.

”Practically, though, one could make a strong case that many ski instructors don’t think so. Maybe that is because we, as individuals, don’t die on the vine if we simply keep doing what we always have without changing it much. Our industry suffers. Our collective image as an association suffers; but these things are easy to miss as we focus on daily tasks, insulating ourselves from any responsibility we may have for them. The fact is, “Change with the times or die on the vine!” does apply to each of us because it applies to our industry. It has to “Change with the times or die on the vine!

”Learning to ask “Why”.

I have always thought of myself as an open-minded teacher, willing to learn, willing to change. I recently discovered though, that I am guilty of sticking with “what works” and failing to develop better ways to help people reach their goals. I learned it through the process of learning to ask myself “Why” and finding the answer among my responsibilities as a teacher. The only way I can think of to describe this is by anecdote.

A few seasons ago I met a new mentor. He hardly spoke to me at all, but one day he showed up at my elbow and asked me a question. It went like this:

M: “Why do you take poles away from beginners?

”Me: “I don’t always, but if they repeatedly try to use them to stop or turn, then I take them away until I can teach them to use their skis & feet, instead of poles & hands.

M: “Why would they use their poles & hands instead or learning to use their feet?”

Me: Thinking first – “Because they are scared to slide downhill.”

M: “Why would they be scared?”

Me: “Because they are too high up the hill for their experience level….”

M: “Why are they too high up the hill for their experience level?”

Me: “Because I took them there…!”

M: “Why, would you, as a teacher, take a class too far up the hill, then take away the one tool your students have that makes them feel safe and expect them to be able learn anything?”

Me: “….”

M: Gone now

A few days later, I was about to get started with a couple 4 year olds for a two hour session.

M: Appeared at my elbow - “Why don’t you give poles to kids?”

Me: Confidently – “Poles usually get in their way & present a safety hazard. Kids continually trip on them and the poles give them too many things to think about.”

M: “Why?”

Me: “Because they lack the experience and coordination to use them.”

M: “Why”

Me: Thinking first – “First, they have never used poles. Second; developmentally, kids connect to their feet last, it’s harder for them to learn to use their feet & skis when they have poles.”

M: “Why, don’t you teach them how to use their poles if they have no experience with them? Why would you take a tool away from the part of their body they are connected to and expect them to use the parts they aren’t connected to?”

Me: “……..”

M: Gone again

In both cases, I was left to answer the final question on my own through reflection & direct experience. Those two experiences taught me more about how to ask “Why.” What I really learned was where to find the answer; to look at my actions, my decisions. There I found no good answers to the questions “Why do you take poles away from beginners?” and “Why don’t you give poles to kids?” What it really came down to was that “I had not been doing my job as a teacher.” Once I faced up to that humbling reality I set about learning how to do my job as a teacher. The outcomes were instant, occurring in the very lessons I was teaching at the time. I started giving poles to everyone; started teaching good pole use before we put the skis on. If people had problems we learned together how to make those problems go away. The results have been amazing. Teaching pole use for balance and propulsion to first timers, beginners & kids had many unexpected outcomes. Many of my standby teachings were revealed as irrelevant to the real needs of my students. It was easy to leave these irrelevancies out as I discovered more and more links between skill development and the real experience of skiing.

Teaching for Transfer.

My new mentor doesn’t show up at my elbow very often, if ever. In fact he still rarely, if ever, talks to me. But there are times when I swear if I looked over my shoulder I would see his shimmering Obi-Wan Kenobi-esque apparition asking me “Why” something is the way it is. One such event occurred while introducing pole use to a developing skier who had reached that “somewhat defined” place in skiing development where pole use is suddenly appropriate. All sorts of weird things can happen to a skier who looks to be on the perfect learning curve, until they try to use their poles for “moving their center of mass into a turn to enhance their ability to make a more simultaneous edge change and steer both skis through turn initiation.”

Obi-Wan: “Why do your students tend to have trouble learning to use their poles while skiing?

”Me: “Because they lack the skills & experience”

Obi-Wan: “Why, after how many lessons, do they lack skills & experience with pole-use?”

Me: “Because I haven’t really taught them much about it yet.”

Obi-wan: “Why?”

Me: “…..”Pole use plays a critical role in involving the entire body in balancing for every level of skier. It affects the hands, arms and upper body in such a way that it either enables or inhibits flexion/extension of the spine for balancing & pressure control movements. Using a few simple activities to teach good pole use can be that “magic bullet” for involving the hands and arms in a natural and uncontrived way. A skier who learns to use their poles as they develop will be ready to use them for more complex applications when the time comes. Their hands, arms & upper body will already be involved in the movements of skiing. The stance that results from this will allow movements to chain upward through the body into the spine, torso arms & hands as dynamics increase. As a result, pole swing and touch will not be such a stretch.

In Summary

As I write this I find myself compelled to do a couple things. One is to ask myself why the significance & connection of pole use & spinal flexion have been so lost on me for so many years. The other is to fall into an educationally preachy stance & tell other coaches how to implement this “discovery” of mine with a list of exercises and drills. On the first count I have only to refer to our National Standards or to look at many of the other sources of sport-specific information PSIA & PSIA-NW has put out over the years and see for myself that “whole body,” “spinal flexion” and “pole use” have been in play among our skiing concepts for many years. It has been up to me to actively include and research them in the experiential manner in which a skiing & coaching skills develop. On the second count I have to consider that all of my breakthroughs have been experienced before by someone else. Just because I have recently become aware of something by no means makes it revolutionary within the industry. Instead of following my compulsions, I hope simply sharing the messages of these mentors can help other snow sports coaches develop their skills, knowledge & life experiences far beyond what is already known to them.

P.S.I finally found a good answer for “why not to give a kid poles;” When they cannot hold onto them. When I meet a kid for a lesson I give them a ‘thumbs up’ and see if they can squeeze my thumb and hang on. If so I get them poles. If not, I don’t. I can’t say I discovered this either, “M:” whispered it in my ear at the same time he told me to “turn off my targeting computer.”

Stan teaches for Stevens Pass Ski School. He does design/build construction work in the off season.